Liturgical Readings for : Saturday, 29th June, 2024
29/6 Ss Peter and Paul, Apostles – Solemnity
FIRST READING
A reading from the Acts of the Apostles 12:1-11
Now I know the Lord really has saved me from Herod.
King Herod started persecuting certain members of the Church. He beheaded James the brother of John, and when he saw that this pleased the Jews he decided to arrest Peter as well. This was during the days of Unleavened Bread, and he put Peter in prison, assigning four squads of four soldiers each to guard him in turns. Herod meant to try Peter in public after the end of Passover week. All the time Peter was under guard the Church prayed to God for him unremittingly.
On the night before Herod was to try him, Peter was sleeping between two soldiers, fastened with double chains, while guards kept watch at the main entrance to the prison. Then suddenly the angel of the Lord stood there, and the cell was filled with light. He tapped Peter on the side and woke him.
‘Get up!‘ he said ‘Hurry!‘ – and the chains fell from his hands.
The angel then said, ‘Put on your belt and sandals.‘
After he had done this, the angel next said,
‘Wrap your cloak round you and follow me.’
Peter followed him, but had no idea that what the angel did was all happening in reality; he thought he was seeing a vision. They passed through two guard posts one after the other, and reached the iron gate leading to the city. This opened of its own accord; they went through it and had walked the whole length of one street when suddenly the angel left him. It was only then that Peter came to himself.
‘Now I know it is all true,’ he said . ‘The Lord really did send his angel and has saved me from Herod and from all that the Jewish people were so certain would happen to me.’
The Word of the Lord. Thanks be to God.
Responsorial Psalm Ps 33
Response From all my terrors the Lord set me free.
Or The angel of the Lord rescues those who revere him.
1. I will bless the Lord at all times, his praise always on my lips;
in the Lord my soul shall make its boast. The humble shall hear and be glad. Response
2. Glorify the Lord with me. Together let us praise his name.
I sought the Lord and he answered me; from all my terrors he set me free. Response
3. Look towards him and be radiant; let your faces not be abashed.
This poor man called; the Lord heard him and rescued him from all his distress. Response
4. The angel of the Lord is encamped around those who revere him, to rescue them.
Taste and see that the Lord is good. He is happy who seeks refuge in him. Response
SECOND READING
A reading from the second letter of St Paul to Timothy 4:6-8 17-18
All there is to come now is the crown of righteousness reserved for me.
My life is already being poured away as a libation, and the time has come for me to be gone. I have fought the good fight to the end; I have run the race to the finish; I have kept the faith; all there is to come now is the crown of righteousness reserved for me, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will give to me on that Day; and not only to me but to all those who have longed for his Appearing.
But the Lord stood by me and gave me power, so that through me the whole message might be proclaimed for all the pagans to hear; and so I was rescued from the lion’s mouth. The Lord will rescue me from all evil attempts on me, and bring me safely to his heavenly kingdom. To him be glory for ever and ever. Amen.
The Word of the Lord. Thanks be to God.
Gospel Acclamation Mt 16:18
Alleluia, Alleluia!
You are Peter and on this rock I will build my Church.
And the gates of the underworld can never hold out against it.
Alleluia!
GOSPEL
The Lord be with you. And with your spirit
A reading from the holy Gospel according to Matthew 16:13-19 Glory to you, O Lord.
You are Peter, and I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven.
When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi he put this question to his disciples,
‘Who do people say the Son of Man is?‘
And they said, ‘Some say he is John the Baptist, some Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.‘
‘But you,’ he said ‘who do you say I am?‘
Then Simon Peter spoke up, ‘You are the Christ,’ he said ‘the Son of the living God.‘
Jesus replied,
‘Simon son of Jonah, you are a happy man!
Because it was not flesh and blood that revealed this to you but my Father in heaven.
So I now say to you: You are Peter and on this rock I will build my Church.
And the gates of the underworld can never hold out against it.
I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven: whatever you bind on earth shall be considered bound in heaven; whatever you loose on earth shall be considered loosed in heaven.’
The Gospel of the Lord. Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.
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Gospel Reflection 29/6 Ss Peter and Paul Matthew 16:13-19
Peter and Paul were two very different people who on at least one important issue in the early church were seriously at odds with one another. Peter wanted pagans who entered the church to submit to the Jewish Law, whereas Paul insisted that this was an unnecessary imposition on them.
Peter was a fisherman from Galilee, a predominately rural area. Paul was from the university city of Tarsus, in the south of modern day Turkey.
Peter was an Aramaic speaking Jew; Paul was a Greek speaking Jew.
Peter probably just had the very basic education of his time and place; Paul was clearly a very well educated and literate person.
Peter, of course, knew Jesus personally and was with him throughout his public ministry. Paul only ever encountered the risen Lord.
Peter’s mission was primarily to preach the gospel to the Jews. Paul’s mission was to preach the gospel primarily to pagans.
According to Paul, in his letter to the Galatians, he met Peter for the first time in the city of Jerusalem, some three years after the risen Lord appeared to Paul, ‘after three years, I did go up to Jerusalem to visit Cephas and stayed with him fifteen days’. No doubt, on that occasion, Peter had an opportunity to share with Paul his own experiences of Jesus during his public ministry. In spite of their many differences, they were both equally dedicated to serving the Lord. According to the first reading, Peter was imprisoned for his work of preaching the gospel. In the second reading Paul speaks as one who is already ‘being poured away as a libation’, a drink offering in the Temple. They were each put to death because of their faith in Christ during the persecution of the church in Rome ordered by Nero, who blamed the Christians of Rome for the great fire in the city. The Lord worked very differently but very powerfully through each of them. The Lord wishes to work through each of us and will do so in a way that is unique to each of us. The Lord needs diversity, not uniformity. Yet, he needs us to work in harmony, like the different parts of one body. Sometimes our diversity can cause tension, as sometimes happened between Peter and Paul, but such tension can be healthy and can ultimately serve the Lord’s purposes. Our tensions can be resolved if, like Peter and Paul, we keep our eyes fixed on the risen Lord whose servants we are.
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The Scripture Readings are taken from The Jerusalem Bible, published 1966 by Darton, Longman & Todd Ltd.
